I’ve always been a motorsports fan. I grew up watching them with my dad, who taught me the meaning of being black-flagged and pointed out the backmarkers. So when I saw a job casting for a ‘grid girl’ when I was 22, I jumped at the chance to be in the thick of the action. Eight years on, Formula One have just banned us from the 2018 season – we’re out of fashion, apparently, and ‘at odds’ with modern-day values. When these values stop women doing a job we love and are proud to do, you have to wonder if the modern world’s become a little odd, itself.

I was already doing modelling work when I started as a grid girl, but this was a different game altogether. The job offers aren’t just based on looks – though there are, of course, physical requirements; usually, you must be a size 8 to 12 and at least 5ft 5ins – they want to know who you are and how adept you will be at the meeting and greeting...